Internet information services differ in a number of ways from traditional broadcast services such as television and radio. These differences make it much more difficult for the internet information services provider to attract the attention of the internet user to messages that the internet user has not actively sought, such as commercially sponsored messages, than has been the case with traditional broadcast services.
One such difference is that the internet user normally controls the channel to her receiving equipment, typically a computer. The internet user therefore may play an active role in selecting information resources transmitted. In contrast, in traditional broadcast media, the user has no control at all over the channel, and may select information resources only by receiving or not receiving (such as by changing the channel) information placed on the channel by the broadcaster.
Further, in traditional broadcast media, transmissions are often used by the recipient without the assistance of content storage or processing equipment, which might permit the user to avoid or minimize exposure to unwanted or uninteresting information from the transmission. The user of traditional broadcast media therefore generally cannot direct his or her attention only to desired portions of the transmission without interrupting the viewing process. The user therefore normally views most or all information intended for the viewer by the broadcaster while viewing a broadcast. The user's viewing process is substantially under the control of the broadcaster.
For example, a traditional broadcast typically includes programming to induce users to tune the broadcast channel. In order to derive revenue from the broadcast, the broadcaster typically intersperses commercial sponsored messages, which the user may not desire to view, with the programming which the viewer seeks. Because the user does not control the channel, the user has no choice but to receive commercial messages interspersed with the program while tuned to the channel. If the program is viewed as received, the viewer further must either view such commercial messages or interrupt viewing the channel altogether, perhaps by tuning another channel.
Internet users, unlike broadcast users, may exercise control over the channel to their receiver. Unlike a broadcast, in which a stream of information is transmitted without regard to any user's desire to receive it, internet information is typically transmitted only in response to a request.
Like broadcasters, internet information providers often desire to intersperse commercially sponsored messages with information sought by users, hoping to induce users to view the commercially sponsored messages along with user-selected information. However, internet users receive requested information in digital form and store and/or process some or all of the requested information on computers before or during the viewing process. As a result, internet information providers typically exercise far less control over the viewing process than do broadcasters, and unwanted or uninteresting content may be easily ignored or avoided by the internet user. It is thus more difficult for internet information providers to effectively deliver commercially sponsored messages to internet users than for traditional broadcasters.
For example, internet search service providers often display so-called banner advertisements on the same page with search results. Experience has shown, however, that search service users often focus only on retrieved search results and ignore displayed banner advertisements.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an improved internet messaging system that permits the internet information provider greater control over the user's viewing process of provider-selected messages, without otherwise interfering with the viewing process of user-selected information.